Wednesday News, February 14th

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Le Mars woman has been given two years of probation for using counterfeit cash at a Sioux City casino.
Court records say 29-year-old Brittany Derby pleaded guilty Monday to forgery. She was given a deferred judgment, which will allow her conviction to be removed from court records if she successfully completes the terms of her probation.
Police say Derby, Jackelen Hartsock, of Le Mars, and Kurt Jones made several cash transactions Aug. 5 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Police say the bills were later found to be counterfeit.
Hartsock also has been given two years of probation. Jones has pleaded not guilty and awaits trial next month.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa health officials are warning the public to throw out any Fareway packaged chicken salad, because it could be contaminated with salmonella.
The Iowa Department of Public Health and the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals issued a joint statement Tuesday calling for the move.
The agencies say the chicken salad sold at Fareway stores was produced and packaged by a third party for the store and has been connected to multiple cases of salmonella across the state.
Preliminary test results from a state lab also showed the contamination.
Salmonella can cause severe illness with diarrhea, fever, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, blood stools and dehydration.

Des Moines Airport Authority Awards Taxi Service To Trans Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Des Moines airport board has decided to limit taxi service to just one company.
The Des Moines Airport Authority Board unanimously approved a three-year contract Tuesday with Trans Iowa. Trans Iowa will be required to dedicate 15 cabs and 24 drivers to the airport.
Ride-sharing options will still be allowed.
Airport Executive Director Kevin Foley says limiting the service to one company is the only way the airport can ensure high-quality, consistent trips.
He’s said taxi operators have been violating airport rules by having too few drivers, driving damaged vehicles, charging minimum trip fees, failing to post fee lists and only accepting cash payments.
Other cab company owners say the contracted service is unfair to smaller companies trying to expand.

Iowa City Landlord Ordered To Pay Maintenance Worker’s Widow

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A jury has ordered a prominent Iowa City landlord to pay $5.6 million to the widow of a maintenance worker who fell to his death.
The Johnson County jury returned the verdict late Monday against Jeffrey Clark, the manager of Apartments Downtown, Inc.
The case stems from the 2014 death of 40-year-old husband and father Bronson Ganka, a handyman for the apartments company.
Ganka fell from a ladder while trying to drill a hole above an awning to a downtown Iowa City business. He suffered serious injuries after landing on the sidewalk, went into a coma and died 11 days later.
Ganka’s widow, Kara, alleged that Clark was grossly negligent because he told Ganka he couldn’t use an available boom truck that had safety guardrails to perform the work.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Prominent Republican women say they’re frustrated by President Donald Trump’s handling of abuse charges against men in the White House’s midst.
Trump has refused to personally voice support for the ex-wives of two former White House aides who say their husbands abused them. He tweeted over the weekend that men’s lives have been shattered by “mere” allegations.
Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia says it’s
difficult being a Republican woman and having to “fight through” the administration’s muddled message to women. A Republican from Iowa, Sen. Joni Ernst, said on CNN that she’s “extremely disappointed in this situation. Abuse is never OK.”
Republicans have long struggled to attract female voters. The party is defending its House and Senate majorities in the midterm elections.